Would you take turn chewing the same piece of gum with your coworkers, classmates, or even your family members? Probably not. According to this article in the Washington Post, students at a Montgomery County high school were asked to take turns chewing the same piece of gum as a simulation of how sexually transmitted diseases were spread.

An excerpt:

To demonstrate how sexually transmitted diseases are spread, a visiting speaker invited students to share gum in health classes at four county high schools in December and last month. School officials said a total of about 100 students participated in the lessons, although some declined to chew the gum…

“It was fine for me, because my best friend and me did it first,” said Julia Bellefleur, 15, a Damascus High School sophomore who participated in the exercise. “But it was kind of gross for everyone else. I was just glad I did it first.”

So it seems to be a somewhat meaningful exercise. And it helps to get the point across. But is the exercise going too far to teach kids a lesson?